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All parties – bar one – join forces to support shark finning ban

All the political parties – except National - put aside their differences today to support a pledge to end shark finning in New Zealand.

Cross-party support for the New Zealand Shark Alliance’s (NZSA’s) national petition comes from the Green Party, Labour, Mana, New Zealand First, and United Future. The Maori Party wasn’t able to attend this afternoon’s event outside Parliament, but the party has also lent its support to the pledge.

The National Party declined to meet NZSA representatives to discuss the issue.

“It’s extremely wasteful for fishers to dump 98 per cent of a shark’s body overboard after its fins have been removed. It is shameful that this disgusting practice is still legal inside our Exclusive Economic Zone,” she says.

New Zealand is one of the world’s top 20 exporters of shark fins.

An estimated 73-100 million sharks are caught around the world every year solely for their fins. The practice is widely condemned for causing a significant global decline in shark populations.

The Ministry for Primary Industries is currently reviewing the National Plan of Action for Sharks, which sets out to “conserve and manage our shark species”.

The NZSA is calling on the ministry to use this opportunity to end shark finning in New Zealand. The alliance wants to see legislation in place that requires fishers to bring sharks ashore with fins naturally attached. This would allow fishers to continue selling shark fins and encouraging the rest of the shark to be used.

The Labour Party’s conservation spokeswoman, Ruth Dyson, who was at the public signing this afternoon, says that the Government must act now to end shark finning in New Zealand waters.

“It is pleasing to see the increasing support for this issue across the parties in Parliament. Sharks are a critical part of the health of our oceans. Many countries have moved against shark finning. It’s time for New Zealand to act too.”

“Shark finning” is an industry term for removing the fins of a shark and dumping the body at sea. It is widely condemned as a grossly unsustainable practice contributing to the serious worldwide decline of sharks.